link to this weeks sales from couponmom.com

This is the link to the sales for this week (or what is left of it). For more go to couponmom.com

FREE is the best price, and you can get plenty of freebies with our drugstore lists this week lasting through Saturday May 30th. Remember at the drug stores, you can use both the store ad coupon AND the coupon from the manufactur--that is 2 coupons from 2 different sources on the same one product.



CVS deals include free Speed Stick (value $3.99), free Colgate toothpaste (value $3), great deals on Glade candles, Bic razors, Revlon nail color and more!


Walgreens freebies include Trident gum, calcium supplements free (valule $8.99), free VitaminWater, 50-cent Reach toothbrushes, 34-cent Extra gum, gret deals on Loreal EverPure Hair care products and more!


We're the only game in town with a full list of Wal-Mart deals, over 200 every week. Find out why it's our most popular list of deals every week! For free samples from walmart go to walmart.com


Find the best Target deals with our coupon strategies--we'll tell you where to find Target coupons and how to combine them with your newspaper coupons when possible. Get free Kraft mayonnaise, free Kraft salad dressing, 24-cent Kraft barbecue sauce and 99-cent bags of Hersheys Bliss chocolates and many more great deals!


Rite Aid deals include free Dove Body Mist, 50-cent large Hersheys Extra Dark chocolate bar, great deals on No Nonsense pantyhose and Colgate toothpaste and more.


We are testing the idea of listing more unadvertised sale items on our Kroger Georgia list. Take advantage of 5-cent Kool Aid and set the kids up with their own lemonade stand! Find many more freebies now. Go to the Grocery Deals by State section for the full list.

Homeschool book sale tomorrow!!

Just a reminder that the annual FHE Used Curriculum Sale at the Roger T. Sermon Center in Independence is this Friday. The hours are 9:30 - noon. This year is a sell out. Many of the sellers have said they are pricing their items to SELL, so you should be able to find lots of great deals.

Later today I hope to be getting my site updated. In the past 2 weeks we have had numerous graduations and weddings (including our own Taylors!) and have been out of state. I will get some photos posted as well as this weeks (what is left of it!) sales. I also have some news to share with you about a new spelling program.

Do you know couponmom.com???

This is a great website. It takes a lot of the coupon work in couponing out for you. They have a newsletter which you can subscribe to, that you will receive weekly.

This week by following their site, you can get these for free or next to nothing deals:

CVS deals include free large Hersheys Dark chocolate bars, 50-cent Right Guard or Dry Idea, and get Dry Idea free if you print the $2 coupon from Coupons.com. Save over 70% on Cover Girl lipcolors, Bic Soleil 3 ct. razors, Bic Multipurpose lighters, Revlon cosmetics, Dial soap and Colgate Sensitive toothpaste. Check the CVS list for all the deals!


Walgreens deals include free Colgate toothpaste (value $4.49), free Bayer Quick Release Crystals (value $2.49), 24-cent Edge shave gel, 24-cent Skintimate shave gel, 99-cent Clairol haircolor, 99-cent Right Guard or Dry Idea Clinical deodorant, and get ultra-bargains on Huggies Little Swimmers, Bic Utility lighters, Breyers ice cream, Excedrin (print coupon too), and Lysol cleaner. Check our Walgreens list for all the deals.

At both CVS and Walgreen, you can use both the store coupon and the manufacturers coupon from the paper. (yes 2 coupons for the same 1 item). **Last week CVS had V05 shampoo and conditioners on sale for 77 cents each. I had 75 cent off coupons and got 7 bottles for 2 cents each.

Rite Aid deals include free Bayer Quick Release aspirin 10 ct. (value $3.99), free Wound Wash saline (value $5.49), free Bausch & Lomb eye drops (value $7.99) and make a profit of $4 if you have the newspaper coupon from the 4/5 RP circular. Also get free Right Guard Clinical Strength deodorant or Dry Idea roll on deodorant (print Dry Idea coupon from Coupons.com), pay only 24 cents for Kraft barbecue sauce, only 25 cents for single candy bars, only 50 cents for Old Spice deodorant. Use our list of Rite Aid deals to really stretch that value and get items for up to 75% off with our coupon strategies.

A good source of freebies is Walmart.com
Here you can sign up for free samples that are mailed to your home.

Busy Season for Graduates

Saturday the girls and I attended a graduation at our homeschool coop in Kearney of 6 homeschooling seniors. It was a very nice ceremony. Since there were only 6, each graduate was able to share a talent. We had singing, guitar playing and more. They were a very talented group.

Later the coop will be having another graduation for the 8th graders.

Sunday following church, we attended the graduation of a young man who attends our church. He and his family were some of the ones who had helped us earlier in the year to butcher our steer. He had been homeschooled, and then attended his local high school for his senior year. Often times homeschoolers do this for access to more scholarships.

Sunday evening we went to KS for a wedding of our former ministers son. We have 2 more graduations later this week and a couple of graduation parties.

As for now, it is time for me to head out to the garden and do some more work in it.

Shatto Dairy announces Family Day at the Farm

Regardless if you are a homeschooling family or not, your family will love Shatto Dairy outside of Osborn MO. It is a locally owned dairy that still bottles their milk in glass bottles. We enjoy their milk and buy cream from them to make our own butter.

This year their "Family Day at the Farm" will be on June 20 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Enjoy a free lunch (while they last), pet and milk cows, tour the farm and bottling plant, take a hayride, enjoy samples and play games.

Each month the Shatto Dairy puts out a "moosletter". You can subscribe to it by going to their website: http://www.shattomilkcompany.com/


Afterwards, while you are still in the area, come to Plattsburg for the Clinton County 4H small animal show.

Storms on the farm

It has been stormy all day. So, our projects for today and tomorrow have been cancelled. Our plans were to scoot the old chicken coop over 8 inches on the concrete pad it sits on, remove the attached chicken pen (which is actually a chain link dog kennel), move the new chicken coop onto the pad next to the old coop and put in the new fence posts. Then we plan on fencing in a large area for the poultry so on days when we don't want them to free range they have lots of room.

But, instead we have had rotation above the house twice this afternoon, lots of rain and some hail. Right now we have a rather green sky, so all outside work is on hold.

We did get some good pictures of the sky. We are all trained storm spotters so we find watching the storms go through rather interesting.

Orginally I thought we could make a bonfire outside this evening to roast hotdogs. I think that one is on hold too!

Amendment has been added and passed!!

This is from an email I just received from the Kochs.


Pax Christi:

"I just got off the phone with Jim Guest, our Representative (Clinton County, etc.). He said that an amendment has been added TO EXCLUDE HOME-SCHOOLERS and PASSED. I spoke with him but five minutes ago. He said it was an oversight problem that caused the difficulty in the first place, and it should have been taken care of earlier but slipped through the cracks."



Thanks, everyone!


TM Koch

Replies received

In response to the SB 291, I sent an email to both my state rep (Jim Guest) and my senator (Brad Lager). I am happy to report back that they both responded to my email. Jim's response was the bill would be corrected today. Brads was that he would watch for it. I will keep you updated!

Last night I made a big batch of salsa. We ate it with supper on top of baked potatoes and it was good!! I never make mine the same way twice, but based on the refrigerator contents. This time it was: diced tomatoes, diced sweet onion and purple onion, diced bell pepper, salt, lime juice and cilantro. I also added just a little garlic. Its pretty good!

This afternoon we plan on working in the garden a little more. I held off yesterday on putting more plants in as it was to rain heavy and storm. I didn't want them washed out. However, the storm missed us, except for some thunder and lightening.

Please read!!

Missouri--Emergency Rally Tomorrow, May 14 in Jefferson City--Urgent!

HSLDA Members and Friends,

We urgently need your attendance at a rally tomorrow on the steps of
the Capitol in Jefferson City at 1 p.m. to stop an extremely serious
threat that has emerged with literally no warning. There is no time
for phone calls or emails to be effective. We need thousands of
homeschoolers physically present tomorrow!

This dramatic threat would massively increase government control over
homeschooling. Every homeschooled child (except those in St. Louis
City)--whether 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20-- would be subject to compulsory
school attendance until they could prove to the state's satisfaction
that they had completed "sixteen credits towards high school
graduation."

This would suddenly give the state power to control and define what a
homeschool "credit" is. It would immediately give the state power to
control what is required for homeschool graduation. This would
destroy liberty for homeschoolers in Missouri on an unprecedented
scale and cause unimaginable problems.

ACTION REQUESTED

We need 5,000 homeschoolers tomorrow at 1 p.m. on the steps of the
Capitol in Jefferson City to send a message: VOTE NO ON S.B. 291. Car
pool if possible to make parking easier for others. Forward this to
other homeschoolers.

BACKGROUND

The legislature closes this Friday. This bill could be voted on late
Thursday or Friday. S.B. 291 posed no threat to homeschoolers until it
was very recently amended to add the credit and graduation provision.
Immediate action is required. Families for Home Education (FHE) joins
HSLDA in calling for this rally. Brad Haines of FHE will lead the
rally.

This is our hour of need. Can you set everything else aside for
freedom and be ready in a minute, like the minutemen of old?

Thank you for standing with us for freedom!

Sincerely,
Scott Woodruff

============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ====
The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of:

Home School Legal Defense Association
P.O. Box 3000
Purcellville, Virginia 20134
Phone: (540) 338-5600
Fax: (540) 338-2733
Email: info@hslda.org
Web: http://www.hslda. org

Homeschooler opportunity @ MWSU

Please note: The attachments are not included. If you are interested, you
must contact Mr. Hartman directly. His contact information is below.


Hello Home Schoolers and Parents,

I am looking for ONE OR MORE "high school age" students to work with me in
the Summer Research Institute (SRI) at Missouri Western State University.
This is a collaboration with "high school age" students including
graduating seniors, college students at Missouri Western, and faculty. My particular
project would involve "Forest, prairie, soil sampling and management at
Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge," which is 25 miles north of St.
Joseph. This is a unique project in that we are sampling the vegetation
and environment of a pristine prairie and describing the natural pattern and
processes on this site. Students who join this project will receive two
free hours of college research credit at Missouri Western State University.

The Summer Research Program is roughly 7 weeks long and can be 10-14 hours
per week. The project can start June 1, but if students wish to start
earlier, they are welcome to. STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE EXCELLENT TRAINING
DOING REAL PUBLISHABLE SCIENCE AND 2 CREDITS OF MWSU RESEARCH CREDIT THAT
CAN EITHER BE USED AT MISSOURI WESTERN OR IS TRANSFERABLE TO ANOTHER
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY. I'm very flexible on the time as well as the days that
a student can work. They will technically be a Missouri Western student
and have all of the privedges involved including library use, use of athletic
facilities, etc. So again, we're quite flexible. I will be supervising
the students and providing transport if it's to the Squaw Creek Refuge. Also
much of the project will be on the campus of Missouri Western. Basically
the requirements for students are enthusiasm and ability to get to the
campus.

So for a student to sign up, I've attached an info letter and application.
The deadline is officially FRIDAY MAY 15, 2009 but this can be extended.
If a student is interested, please have them contact me at
khartman3@missouriwestern.edu and/or call 740-707-7880 (cell). If they
would have trouble getting the application in by the deadline, please have
them contact me as well, and I'll let the program administrators know that
the application is coming.

We'll be doing vegetation sampling and measuring the % cover, productivity,
and diversity of plots on the hills at Squaw Creek National Wildlife
Refuge.
We'll also take soil samples and measure the amounts of 13+ chemicals and
correlate them with each other and the distribution of plants on the hill.
Other measurements that we might take would include abiotic variables such
as temperature, soil moisture, and humidity. This will all be used to make
recommendations for environmental restoration conducted at the refuge and
throughout the state.

So thank you, and please let or others know that if they also have students
who are interested to let me know. It will be a great experience.

Thanks again and let me know if you have some students who might be
interested.
ADVERTISEMENT AND STUDENT APPLICATION ARE ATTACHED.

Sincerely,
Kurt Hartman
740-707-7880 cell

Kurt M. Hartman
Department of Biology
201 Agenstein Hall
Missouri Western State University
St. Joseph, MO 64507
khartman3@missouriwestern.edu816-271-4382 office

Chickens, chickens, chickens

Last night we were in a panic. We lost 2 of the chicks and this morning another one was missing. The weird thing was, I personally saw them all go into the coop. But they didn't come back out. No evidence of them in the coop, no feathers or odd chicken body parts around, and no unsealed exits.....So, this afternoon I made it my mission to find them.

Find them I did. I walked just about every inch of 40 acres and when I got back up to the coop, I heard them. I went into the coop and they were not there. I went outside again, and heard them inside....You would never believe where I found the 3 missing half grown chickens. They were in between the inner and outer wall of the coop. There was a small hole between 2 studs, that was maybe the size of a juice can behind the nesting boxes. There I saw a pair of moving legs.

We had to move the nesting boxes and open the hole bigger and out came 3 chickens, acting every bit as if that were a normal place for a chicken to be.

Since we had to move the nesting boxes, I decided this was a good time to clean out the coop, so we spent the next several hours doing that. And, yes, we did seal the hole back up.

I also called dig rite this morning to have the electric and water located around the coop. If the weather holds, this weekend we plan on moving my new coop onto the concrete pad, scooting the old coop over a little and setting the fence post to give the chickens a fenced in yard. This will help keep them out of the garden during harvest time. Last year they ate more squash and watermelon than we did. Their fenced in area will be around 25 ft by 50 ft. It does have a low spot in it, so either this evening or tomorrow I will bring in some dirt and fill that in.

Once all the coops are moved to their proper place on the concrete, I have siding to recover the old coop with, then I will paint it to match the barn. The new coop is already painted to match. My old coop was a freebie off of craigslist.org. The new one was a last years demo model from Lowe's in St Jo that I got for 75% off the original price. We already have the posts for their fence, but I will need to get some more fencing. I also think that we may also end up with room inside the fenced area to move the girls rabbit hutches to as well. That will get them out of barn during the summer, and during the winter we can maybe put them in the new rabbit hutch. I also need to keep my eye open for some more nesting boxes, or else make another 12.

Support this bill please!!

Legislative Update

May 8, 2009: Jefferson City

Autism Insurance Bill STILL alive in House !!!

This week at the capitol, the state budget bills took priority over most everything, and most the the legislative attention was focused on finishing the state budget by the required deadline of May 8. Now, the budget is behind them, and all the appropriations bills have been agreed on and are headed to the Governor's desk. We now expect the legislators to turn to the other issues not yet addressed this session, such as health care, and many of us are advocating for autism insurance reform to be addressed this session as well!


SB 167 has only a narrow chance, but is still hanging in there! SB 167 was discussed in the House Rules committee on Thursday, and will be brought back up on Monday. That will leave only a few days for the bill to be put on calendar, debated, and voted on, and then make a quick pass through the Senate to approve changes.

THE BUZZ: SB 167 has a lot of hurdles still left with time running out, but it appears that support from legislators is growing, as they realize the good potential fiscal impact of the bill for the state of Missouri and for families!

Click here is an online petition you can sign to support autism insurance reform!

OTHER NEWS ...


Autism Project bill is "Truly Agreed To and Finally Passed" and will be heading to Governor for approval !!!

Missouri Autism Commission members appointed and confirmed by Senate this session - Parent members appointed are David Crowe of Cape Girardeau and Lee Bascom of St. Louis.
Click here for more info!


***If you are contacting your legislators, the best advice is to stay positive in any of your messages
(whether calling, emailing, faxing, or writing)
and thank everyone for their time and attention to our issues!

(written by G.K. Luetkemeyer, an "autism mom" at the Capitol)



Watch for email updates this week
regarding ACTIVITY on bills!


MORE ...
Autism Updates from around the Show-Me State


UPCOMING EVENTS


May 20, 2009
Meeting of the Missouri Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorders, Jefferson City

June 10, 2009
MOFEAT Heart & Sol Fundraiser in St. Louis






For ongoing updates and links, visit
Missouri Autism Coalition "AUTISM BUZZ"

Emily finishes 3rd at Homeschool Spelling Bee

This morning the girls and I went to the CPHE Spelling Bee in Kansas City. Emily came in third for the 7th grade division. She came home with a certificate and a ribbon.

After the spelling bee we went to Sonic and got a lunch to take to Smithville Lake and eat. The spillway was open so the girls had fun watching the water come rushing through. It was only up to the 3 foot marker, but had a very high current. We plan on visiting the lake again several times this summer.

This evening, the women at church are being served dinner by the men for a Ladies Night Out Banquet. The girls are getting all decked out now getting ready to go.

USED BOOK AND CURRICULUM SALE

Just a reminder. The Used Curriculum Fair is only a few short weeks away. There are still some spots/tables available, but they are going fast. Please get your reservations in as soon as possible!

Families for Home Education

Region 3

USED BOOK AND CURRICULUM SALE

Friday, May 29, 2009

9:30-12:00 noon

Roger t. sermon center

independence, mo



The official Families for Home Education Region 3 Used Book and Curriculum Sale will be held at the Roger T. Sermon Center located on the southeast corner of Noland Road and Truman Road in Independence. Admittance is free. The cost to sell used curriculum will be $10 per space. Tables will be available on a first come, first served basis. This sale is for used books and curriculum materials only, no retail sales allowed. Send a completed form and a business sized Self Addressed Stamped (44 cents postage, please) Envelope with your check made payable to FHE Reg. 3 to:

FHE Reg. 3
17078 Hook Road
Higginsville, MO 64037-9133



If you have any questions, please contact me at mrsunz@ctcis.net or call one of the numbers listed below.
See you May 29!


Susan Mehl
mrsunz@ctcis.net
660-584-8539
1 877 MY MO FHE (1-877-696-6343) Mailbox 3



***The business sized SASE is REQUIRED to receive your confirmation letter!!! It will be mailed approximately one week before the sale. Postage will be 44 cents by then.***

Garden Progress and New Chickens

Last night a friend of ours brought us 9 new chickens, 7 are layers and 2 are roosters. They raised them from day olds as a homeschool project. They are several months old and very well socialized. In fact, they tend to follow us around outside like puppies would. They spent their first night here last night in a rabbit hutch. Today we let them out to free range with the rest of our poultry. They did very good and stayed right close to the rest of the birds. The seven of them tended to stay together as a small group. They are cute to watch. They should start laying in about 6-8 weeks.

The girls and I spent most of the day outside today working in the garden. I was surprised when the tiller started up, after sitting in the barn all winter. We got the first 4 rows in the garden, which are made up of broccoli, green cabbage, purple cabbage, egg plant, and 24 pepper plants of various types. Tomorrow we have more onions, potatoes, horseradish, and the tomatoes to get in the ground, as well as a few yellow squash, and zucchini. Then we will finish out the garden with seed--pumpkin, watermelon, several types of beans, okra, radish and sweet corn. The girls were a big help in the garden, but the chickens and ducks also helped. They love to scratch in the garden and eat the grubs which try to eat the plants, so it is a win-win for the chickens and the gardener.

We have about everything to plant except for cauliflower and celery. I could not find them anywhere.

Want free KFC? Or, free photos from Walgreens??

Thanks Jennifer for this one.

Go to http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090430-tows-kfc-coupon-download BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT for a coupon for free KFC. You can download up to 4 coupons, and limit 1 coupon in store per person.

And, Tysa found free photos at Walgreens... http://photo.walgreens.com/ I have been told in some areas you can also get a free 8 X 10 TODAY only.

Garden beginnings FINALLY

Last night the girls had a regular club meeting for 4H. The club did a service project for the local nursing homes. They planted hanging pots with flowers to be delivered before Mothers Day. 4H meets in the ag room and the leader is the FFA leader. We were able to buy 25 tomatoes and 18 bell peppers that were left over from their plant sale.

After we got home we started to disc the garden (in the dark). It was finally starting to dry out some. I got about the first 40 feet done, then the tractor got stuck--twice. After managing to get it unstuck the second time, I decided to wait another day and hope it didn't rain more. This morning it sprinkled some, but not enough to affect the garden too much. Where I disc last night, the earth was much dryer this evening. So, I went over it again, and disced the remainder of the garden. The second part will need it one more time tomorrow (weather permitting) then I can till and start putting my plants in. First priority will be given to my potatoes and horse radish(which are sprouting on the dining room table) and my tomatoes and peppers, which are also on the dining room table. It will be nice to have the entire table back again!

"Splash Kingdom" Musical & events in KC and Columbia MO

Tonight the girls and I went into Kearney at watched "Splash Kingdom", a Christian musical. It was put on by one of the classes at New Life Homeschool Fellowship, and was at the building coop meets in. It was very very good. The class had very good singers and actors in it. The teacher was Bonnie Pooker and as usual, she did a very good job. Bonnie is a wonderful Christian lady who is very talented and can play numerous musical instruments and so can her children.

Despite rain being in the forecast for today, it did not rain. But the long term forecast says it is to rain daily through next Wednesday. Will I ever get my garden in????

Right now I am researching internet options. Where we live, we only have the option of century tel (not merged with Embarq). All that is offered in my rural area is dial up and it is very very slow. Right now I am running at 21.8 Kbps which is about our average speed. Hughesnet satalite is in our area, but very very costly. So, now I am checking into wireless options. We have our classroom in the basement, so I am assuming that if our cell phones don't work in the basement, neither will wireless? This is not my area of expertise, so I am rather confused as what to try. Ideally, I want something inexpensive that would allow more than one computer online at the same time. There are some classes that the girls need internet for, and being able to all do our typing at the same time on line would be a huge help for scheduling.

If anyone has any suggestions, fire them at me please!!
*************************************************************************************
Below is from an email I received today. If you are in the KC area, you might want to check this out!

Evolutionary Theory Continues to Damage Many Young People!

Our church is sponsoring training to equip young people and adults to
conduct 5 Day Creation Clubs this summer. The teachers for this
training are energetic, godly young adults who have worked extensively
in both a creation ministry, and also much with Child Evangelism
Fellowship. The Stan Myers family's ministry is called "Creation 2
Christ." They are from Pensacola, Florida.

This training will be conducted at our church, Grace Christian
Fellowship in Kansas City, KS, in June. Our family here in St. Joseph
would like to be able to teach a 5 Day Creation Club in this area.
Would you be able to "host" or suggest a place for this wonderful
teaching? We are looking for an area where a number of children -
perhaps many unchurched - could be invited and attend, either daytime,
or evening - particularly in July. These clubs are usually held
outdoors - often with "plan B" in case of rain.

We will provide everything needed as far as supplies, teachers, and
refreshments! Also, we are willing to help invite those in your
neighborhood, or in a neighborhood which you might suggest. For
apartment housing, the managers need to be asked first.

If you are interested in hosting a Creation Club, please contact us!
Or, if you're interested in knowing more about the Creation 2 Christ
Ministry, and the training which they offer, we'd be glad to tell you!

Debby, for the Dennis Greer family
thegreerfam7@yahoo.com
816 253-9050
****************************************************************************
And, if you are in the Columbia MO area, this one is for you!

Greetings,
>
> I'd love to let your network know about a wonderful event for moms and
> tween daughters coming up Saturday, May 9 at 9 am - 11:30 am at Woodcrest
> Chapel in Columbia, MO. It's the Faithgirlz "Beauty of Believing" Tour
> event, featuring tween expert and author Nancy Rue. This fun and
> inspirational morning out for moms and their tween daughters (ages 9 - 12)
> features Nancy's messages on Friendship Flubs, Girl Politics, Body Talk
> and loving the person God has made them to be - all presented in a way
> girls love and moms appreciate! There will also be a craft, lots of great
> giveaways and refreshments, plus everyone who attends receives a book!
> Local news anchor Teresa Snow of KRCG, also a homeschool mom, will be our
> emcee! This event is sponsored by the Christian children's publisher
> Zonderkidz. We hope your homeschool parents will attend - and bring a
> friend or neighbor! More information on Nancy Rue and the event can be
> found at www.faithgirlz.com/tour. For tickets, contact Woodcrest,
> 573-445-1131, or register online at www.faithgirlz.com/tour. The church is
> located at 2201 West Nifong, Columbia MO 65203. Tickets are $10 each, $12
> day of.
>
> Any way you can help spread the word would be greatly appreciated! If you
> have more questions, please feel free to contact me.
>
> Many thanks!
>
> Marisela Rodriguez
> Public Relations Intern
> ZONDERKIDZ
> 616.656.3826 (P)
> 616.698.3578 [F]
> 5300 Patterson SE
> Grand Rapids, MI 49530